Whispers in the Library
by Broseidon Lord of the Suh
Summary: Bakugou hasn't been sleeping, and Todoroki decides he's going to get spiky hair to go to bed, one way or another.


Whispers in the Library

Bakugou sat alone in the library far past closing time. This had become a regular habit for him these last few weeks, ever since he realized that his run for valedictorian was being threatened by not one, but _three_ people. The librarian took issue with his new custom the first time, but quickly wilted under his red-eyed glare, and now just left a spare key for him to lock up when he left. Yaoyorozu or Iida, he could almost live with losing to, but if that fucking nerd thought he was going to get the better of-

"Guess who." A pair of hands covered his eyes as a warm voice whispered in his ear, rudely disrupting his train of thought.

"Fuck off, I don't have time for this shit."

"It's past midnight Katsuki. I came to see if I can tempt you back to bed. You need to get some rest."

He growled and pushed the hands away before glaring down at his textbook again with a renewed intensity bordering on malice. "I need to get this reading done."

"We're not covering that for weeks."

"I can't be seeing the material for the first time in class, dumb-" He trails off as those damn hands return, this time on his shoulders, draining the tension from him, alternating heat and cold as they glide across his back.

"Quit using your fucking quirk," he grumbled.

"What? I can't hear you?"

"You damn well heard me, half and half. It's cheating."

Todoroki's hands pulled away. He thought he heard a disappointed grunt from Bakugou, but it could just be his imagination.

"I'll just talk to you then," he whispered, leaning down so his lips were almost against the other boy's ear. "Just focus on your books. Keep filling that wonderful brain of yours."

"Fine, but I'm ignoring you, bastard."

Todoroki let a finger idly trace patterns on Bakugou's neck, trailing tendrils of heat as it went. He was rewarded with small shivers of pleasure rolling through the blonde.

"We'll see how long you can keep up that front. Just keep rereading that same sentence of your Hero Analytics book. You know, I came here because I worry about you. You've been running yourself ragged over this valedictorian thing. I know you hate to lose, but this is ridiculous even by your standards."

"Ridic-"

Todoroki reached around and silenced him with a finger on his lips. "You haven't slept in days. You barely eat. I'm pretty sure the only reason you're keeping hydrated is so your quirk still works if you need it."

"So wh-"

"Shhhh, I'm not done, Katsuki. I'll let you in on a little secret: I had a selfish reason for coming here too."

The finger on Bakugou's neck wanders down his spine, then slowly makes its way back up, goosebumps raising in its wake despite the heat.

"Our bed just feels like mine without you. And my bed is cold and empty."

"You can-"

"I know I could heat it if I wanted to. But you bring a...very particular brand of heat that I miss when you're not there. Come to bed with me. I miss you."

Bakugou had finally had enough, and whirled around angrily, coming face to face with Todoroki. "How can I even think about sleep when _DEKU_ is out there, thinking he can beat me? I can't let him win! I can't, I _won't_ lose. It's all for nothing if I don't finish on top." Angry tears race down his cheeks, and his face grows hot with shame.

Todoroki wipes away the tears and tilts his face so that his cold blue and grey eyes meet Bakugou's thoroughly exhausted red ones, holding his gaze for a moment. He suddenly breaks the tender glance, and pulls the other boy into a tight embrace, cradling his head.

"I'm sorry about this."

"You damn well should be, interrupting my studying…"

"Not that, this…" Cold spreads over Bakugou's body, and by the time he realizes what's happening, it's already too late; his face is frozen in an angry snarl along with the rest of him. Todoroki carries him back to the dorm that they unofficially share, and thaws him out before laying him down on their bed. Bakugou has given up resisting at this point, and lies down, looking almost calm.

"Did you get my books?"

"Yes. They're on your desk."

"Okay."

A short silence passes between the two of them.

"...are you coming to bed?"

"After I watch you for awhile and make sure you're actually going to sleep."

"Fine."

A few moments later, Bakugou feels Todoroki settle in next to him, a comfortable warmth that he didn't want to admit he had missed during his long nights in the library.

"Goodnight, half-and-half."

"Goodnight, Katsuki," he mumbles back sleepily.

"If you've been sleeping like you're telling me to, then why are you so tired?"

"Who do you think carried you back here all those times you blacked out?"

"Oh."

"Go to sleep, Katsuki."

"Wait."

"What is it?"

Todoroki couldn't make out what the boy next to him said, but it sounded suspiciously like "I love you."

Or close enough to make him singe the bedsheets, anyway.


End file.
